DCCC raises the stakes in healthcare message fight with new website

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) fired back at Republican "lies" on health insurance reform, releasing a new website called healthcarefactcheck.com on Thursday chronicling a series of "myths" and "facts" related to the healthcare debate.

The creation of the site on the cusp of Congress' recess demonstrates that national Democrats believe winning the message battle in August could lead to quick passage of healthcare reform legislation when Congress returns to Washington after Labor Day.

"Republicans are trying to poison the debate on health insurance reform with lies, misleading ads, and scare tactics so we're launching healthcarefactcheck.com to set the record straight and empower our supporters to fight back with the truth," said DCCC Executive Director Jon Vogel in a release.

The DCCC's site takes aim at hostile town hall audiences, labeling them "lobbyist-run...extremist mobs."

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Tuesday first accused Republican organizations and lobbyist groups of inciting "mob rule" by organizing protests at town hall meetings held by some Democratic lawmakers already home for recess.

House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) dismissed the protests as "astroturf," implying that they are orchestrated by special interest groups and thus are not truly grassroots action.

Despite Democratic efforts to discredit the protests, Republicans have continued to stand tall against their accusations.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) called Pelosi a "puppeteer" today for attempting to sway centrist Democratic House members who are wary of healthcare reform proposals.

Also, Republican National Committee (RNC) staffers played a trick on people prompted by a DNC ad urging supporters to call the RNC and ask Republicans to stop encouraging unruly behavior at town halls. RNC staffers re-directed their calls back to the DNC's own swtichboard.

"Don't sit there and think you're going to direct a bunch of angry liberals to call the RNC when I know full well what that's all about. I get the joke. My response was, talk to your own party, because they're the ones ginning this up," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said.